Blue Banana’s Albums Of The Year 2013

December 20, 2013chris Band Merch

2013 has been a great year, we’re sure many will agree. There’s been a lot of great music released over the past 12 months, with old bands making heroic comebacks, great artists getting on with business as usual by releasing unsurprisingly great records, and new artists making a name for themselves. We’ve been well and truly spoiled when it comes to new music!

And so, since its customary at this time of year to make lists, we thought we’d sift through all the good, bad and ugly music that 2013 delivered and pick out our favourite records. It wasn’t easy, but we believe every record that made the cut defined the year in some way or just produced awesome music. A lot of your favourite bands may not have made the list, but there’s just no way we could fit everything in!

So let’s not wait any longer, let’s begin the countdown of our albums of the year 2013!

Honourable Mention: “…Like Clockwork” by Queens Of The Stone Age

Queens Of The Stone Age finally returned after a long break away and Joshua Homme’s crew produced probably the band’s best album since Songs For The Deaf. The nicest guy in rock Dave Grohl, the former Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters front man, made another cameo appearance behind the drums for the recording of the album, and it seems like his presence has made the whole group step up their game. A great record, but sadly not in Blue Banana’s top 5.

5. “Wretched And Divine: The Story Of The Wild Ones” by Black Veil Brides

Black Veil Brides started off the year in fine form, delivering one of their most exciting albums that continues with their trend of heading in a less heavy glam metal direction. The result is more songs that instantly get stuck in your head, and the songs are still ringing in our ears even now! The uniquely dressed band really set the benchmark for other alternative rock bands in 2013, and their march towards world domination grows ever stronger. We recommend you celebrate a great year for BVB with something like this awesome Black Veil Brides Fan Package!

4. “Hesitation Marks” by Nine Inch Nails

Trent Reznor left all his fans hanging back in 2009 by announcing he would be taking a break from Nine Inch Nails, but luckily his little vacation didn’t last long, as 2013 was the year we finally heard some new music in the form of album “Hesitation Marks.” The wait was well worth it as Trent’s new record is just as dark, effed up and full of creative electronic music and harsh noise as all his earlier works of industrial music. Hesitation Marks is an instant classic that should not only please long term NIN fans, but also welcome youngsters into his world of heavy electronic music!

3. “Sempiternal” by Bring Me The Horizon

Sheffield Metal band Bring Me The Horizon

Bring Me The Horizon grow more and more popular each year, with people converting to Oli Sykes and company’s heavy music with each new album. “Sempitermal” is another explosive record from the British hardcore band that comes at you with great track after great track – to the point where you get a neck ache from headbanging so much! The power of BMTH even managed to get their music played every day on BBC Radio 1, scaring all their casual listeners with the ferocity of singles like “Sleepwalking”. Not bad for band from Sheffield that once had a cult following on Myspace only five years ago.

2. “Meir” by Kvelertak

Something different for you to try, Swedish metal band Kvelertak

This album is our choice for something you might not have heard before. Kvelertak are a Swedish band that produces epic heavy metal that has attracted quite a lot of attention from music critics and metal fans. Their second album “Meir” is a stone cold masterpiece in doing metal music the way it should be done – loud, heavy and artfully. Kvelertak have even gained recognition from one of the old masters of metal, James Hetfield of Metallica, who is known to be a big fan. We highly recommend those that want to listen to something truly different to check out this awesome album!

“Yeezus” by Kanye West

Just kidding guys, it’s…

1. “Paramore” by Paramore

We’ve always known that Paramore were special, ever since we first got a glimpse of Hayley William’s unique style, but the fact the band continues to produce such amazing music with each and every album is still quite staggering! Paramore’s self titled record is just as emotional and rocking as their previous music, but its awesome to hear how their sound has evolved and matured over the years from tales about bitchy girls at school to heartfelt anthems of heartbreak. From start to finish, Paramore is damn near the most perfect record we’ve been listening to all year, so there’s just no way it wasn’t going to make out top spot! If top spot on our list wasn’t enough though, make it an even better year for Paramore by getting one of our amazing Paramore T Shirts, all dedicated to our favourite band of the year!

So there’s our top five. What do you think? There’s been some awesome music this year, and you bet your bottom dollar 2014 will be just as epic! No doubt we’ll be keeping a close eye on all the great music and providing clothing and merchandise for all the hottest bands that emerge, just as we always do…

This entry was posted on Friday, December 20th, 2013 at 7:30 pm and is filed under Band Merch, Features.
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